Goodnight
by PolarDawn
Summary: What happens on Valentine's Day most definitely does not stay on Valentine's Day. OldRival/LeafGreenShipping. Oneshot.


Her spoon clinked against the bottom of her bowl as she finished her cereal. Noticing that she was done, Gary stood up with his bowl and moved to the sink, picking hers up as he went by. She nodded her thanks as he rinsed them and put them in the dishwasher, closing it once again before turning to her with a smile on his face.

"So, I guess it's time to start setting up for that party," he said, brushing his hair to the side.

"I guess so," smiled Leaf, pushing her chair out and standing up. "I'll get dressed and go out to the mall to pick up the food we ordered. Do you want to clean up here, and set up decorations with me when I get back?"

"Sure! Any chance I can get to be with you, I'll take, no matter how tedious the activity." He winked at her, and she smacked him lightly on the arm. "I'll get the dishwasher started, and start moving stuff out of the living room. You go ahead and get changed."

Leaf smiled again, turned, and exited the room, no doubt on her way to switch clothes. Gary watched her go, marveling at the way she walked, taking in every step like it was the most beautiful thing in the world. Of course, to Gary the steps themselves weren't, but the goddess taking them certainly was. He shook his head, and looked away, grinning. He was the luckiest man on the planet.

He pressed a few buttons on the dishwasher, and left the kitchen as it began to thrum. Crossing the living room, he gathered up a few things that he thought would be best put away for the duration of the party, and deposited them in a cabinet in the corner of the room. As he took out the vacuum and began to run it across the carpet, he thought back over the last couple of years that they had been together, from when they first met in high school all the way up until a few months ago, when he had finally worked up enough courage to ask her to marry him.

He closed his eyes, remembering what he considered to be the most nerve-wracking, and yet still best day of his life.

* * *

><p>She had been feeling a bit defeated; working on a single song for weeks, and not <em>quite <em>getting it to come out how she wanted it. He had known this, and decided to cheer her up in the best way he could think of. Putting a ring on her finger. He was 99.97% sure that she would say yes, but he was scared out of his wits nonetheless. Obviously though, he didn't let Leaf see that. He still had his pride to think of.

He walked into her studio, and saw her sitting down, staring off into space. He chuckled silently to himself as he walked over. She was just the cutest thing. When he reached her, he kneeled down on the pretense of examining her guitar. She broke out of her trance, looking down at him strangely. He never fiddled with her instruments.

She was just about to inquire as to his reasons for being there when he looked up at her, excitement dancing in his brown eyes. _God_, they were such handsome eyes, she thought, blushing slightly as it crossed her mind. She opened her mouth to say something, when Gary suddenly brought his hands up and said something that would change her life forever.

"Leaf Green, will you marry me?"

* * *

><p>Hearing Leaf coming back down the stairs, Gary quit his reminiscing and moved over to the front door, waiting for her. As soon as she got there, he gathered her small frame up in a hug, and kissed her forehead. She sighed, and grabbed her scarf from where it was hanging on the wall.<p>

"I know you'll miss me, but try to keep it together until I get back, kay?" she said, giggling when he nodded seriously. "I'll see you when I get back, then!"

And with that, she was gone, the door closing behind her. Gary stared at it for a second, before grinning and going back to cleaning.

* * *

><p>It was the evening of February 14th, also known as Valentine's Day, and Gary and Leaf's party was in full swing.<p>

Leaf was having a great time, socializing with all her friends, laughing and dancing together with them as the night went on. She had just been talking with May and Drew, and the pair of coordinators were having a fantastic night. She had excused herself, though, when they began whispering to each other. As she glanced behind her, she saw Drew flick his hair in that arrogant way which only May loved, before leading said girl off towards the kitchen, presumably to appease her insatiable hunger for sweets. Smiling to herself, Leaf swung her head back to the front, just in time to run face first into someone.

She stumbled back slightly, apologizing as she did so. Just as she regained her balance, she was tackled by a blue blur. Dawn. The girl squealed and pulled back, looking at Leaf with a huge grin on her face.

"Leaf! I'm so glad to see you!" She yelled, by way of greeting. Leaf rolled her eyes, and looked over the blunette's shoulder, giving a lopsided grin to Paul, the person she had run into. Paul smirked at her before taking hold of Dawn's waist and pulling her away from Leaf.

Dawn pouted at him for a second before the smile made it back on to her face. Looking back to Leaf, she proceeded to bombard her with questions about how her life had been. What with her and Paul touring the Hoenn contest circuit, and Leaf and Gary living in Pallet town, they didn't get to see each other much.

Leaf answered as many questions as she could, before leaving them to their now one-sided chatter. Obviously, all Paul would contribute was the occasional "Hn." Dawn didn't mind though. She never had. It just meant that she could talk more, and that was always something that she enjoyed doing.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ash and Misty going all out on the dance floor. Leaf was glad she had picked the music she did. Despite lacking romance, it complemented the atmosphere of the party perfectly. And the people loved it! She made a mental note to remember the mix she had used. She laughed to herself, before making her way over to the two, and beginning to cheer them on.

Pretty soon, the song ended and they exited the floor, with Leaf moving to meet them. She congratulated them on their insanity, making them laugh, before inviting them to get a drink with her. They gratefully accepted.

She conversed with them for a little while, covering a range of topics, from Pokémon training to composing. After listening to Ash beg for a few minutes, Leaf finally agreed to play them her newest song when she finished it, to which Ash pumped his fist enthusiastically while Misty sighed in resignation. Citing the need to tend to others, Leaf gracefully exited the conversation.

It was at this point that she realized that she hadn't seen Gary for a good while, and decided to go look for him, thinking that maybe they should be going around as a couple. As she meandered around, she reflected on how much she enjoyed being a hostess to such a party. It felt great to be the one to bring this much fun to all her friends, and she didn't have an excuse to do that very often. She figured that she should take advantage of it whenever she was given the chance, hence why she wasn't entirely focused on her search. Had she been, she would have noticed a flash of spiky brown hair followed by a similar flash of blonde shoot up the small flight of stairs to the second floor.

As it was, she made the rounds of the party, and upon realizing that she hadn't found him yet, became slightly worried. She decided that she would check upstairs, and if he wasn't there, would assume that he was in the bathroom or something similar, and that she would see him when he returned.

So, she made her way up the stairs, making it to the last one before stopping dead in her tracks. She could not believe her eyes. There, down the hall, was Gary. But his presence was not what had nearly given her a heart attack. No, what had done that was the fact that he was not alone. In fact, he was very much together with someone else. Gary Oak, _her _Gary Oak, was engaged in what appeared to be a face-sucking contest with another girl.

Leaf whimpered.

It might have been that pathetic, sorrowful little noise that caught his attention, or it might have been chance, she didn't know. All she knew was that it was at that moment that he opened his eyes, and happened to glance down the hall. Seeing his eyes widen, she immediately spun and ran down the stairs, blocking her emotions from her mind. The only thing that she knew was that she needed to be a good hostess for the rest of the party. A tear dripped down her nose, but she wiped it away quickly. She wanted- no. She _needed _to keep herself together. If not for herself, for her friends. They deserved the ability to continue the good night that they were having, didn't they? She reached the living room, smiling falsely at those who glanced her way.

All of a sudden, the music didn't seem so catchy.

* * *

><p>They stood on either side of the door, thanking their friends for coming, neither looking at the other. Gary had glanced up once, but he had instantly looked away. Underneath her smile, he could see that she was no longer whole. In a moment of weakness, he had ripped the most precious thing in the world to shreds. He couldn't stand to look. He could barely stand <em>himself<em>. He had never come close to despising anything as much as he hated himself now. He had always been told that love was the most powerful emotion, but this all-consuming, soul-destroying _hatred_ he felt for himself rivaled the strongest love he had ever felt for anything.

As the last guests walked through the door, a sense of dread fell over him. He knew what was coming. The slap, the yelling, the crying. He knew alright.

As soon as he closed the door, Leaf pointed to the couch.

"You. There. Now."

**(GOODNIGHT – EGYPT CENTRAL *Listen while reading.*)**

He moved as if in a dream, sitting down gingerly, and looking up at his fiancée. At least, that's what he hoped she still was. It all depended on how it all went down.

"So would you like to tell me what happened earlier?" Normally, Gary would come back at that with some smartass comment about a good party, and she would stare at him for a minute, before breaking into a grin. Not this time.

"I… She…"

"Are you going to stutter like a fool or are you going to tell me?" Snapped Leaf, her voice cracking like a whip through the oppressive silence of the room. He jumped, and suddenly looked her right in the eyes. She took an involuntary step back, despite herself.

"I cheated on you. I did, and I'm sorry. I hate myself more than you would even think possible, and I expect you do too. It was no more than what you saw, though. It stopped there. I at least owe you that knowledge."

Leaf stared at him for a minute, before grabbing something off the table next to her. A photograph of them, he noticed idly. From a high school dance, right after they started dating.

"I'd give anything to go back to this morning, you know," she said, staring at the picture. "What made you do it?" As she asked this, she looked back up at him, and he could see the pain in her eyes. It was like a knife through his heart, and made him feel like the worst and most disgusting person in the world, knowing that he was the cause for it.

"It was nothing, really. A moment of weakness," he sighed, looking down at the floor once again, not daring to hold her gaze. "I just hope that you can find it in you to forgive me, someday."

"Gary." He looked up at her once again. "I _have_ forgiven you." His eyes widened hopefully, and he opened his mouth, ready to say something, _anything_ to express just how he felt.

"But." His eyes clouded with self-loathing once again, knowing now that he really had blown it. "I think I need to… leave. I'm not sure I can trust you like I did anymore, and I don't want to always be looking over my shoulder, waiting for you to make another mistake." He closed his eyes. There it was. She was going to leave. He had known it from the beginning.

She watched him for a second, before stepping towards him. She lifted his chin up, and his eyes snapped open. She moved in and brushed her lips against his. For a moment, just a fraction of a tiny piece of a second, Gary thought everything was alright once more. The night hadn't happened, and they were back to how they had been the morning before; happy.

Then she pulled away and he was cruelly ripped back to the present. _Hell_, he thought. The present was _hell._

"One last kiss," she whispered as she stood back up, so silently that he almost didn't hear it. She moved to the door, putting on the same coat and scarf that she had the day before. She lifted her viridian-colored purse up off the seat, and opened the door. He panicked.

"Leaf! Please don't say—"

"Goodbye, Gary." The look on her face when she said it was almost more than he could take.

* * *

><p>Leaf walked across the porch of the house and stepped down off it. She made it the ten feet to her car before she broke down, collapsing on the sidewalk next to it.<p>

* * *

><p>He watched the door close, and just sat there. He didn't move, didn't blink, didn't breathe, didn't do anything. He just sat.<p>

Finally, after an eternity, he took in a shuddering breath, closing his eyes for a second, before finally speaking.

"Goodnight, Leaf," he whispered.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**Whew. Wrote that in one sitting. Was it worth my time? You decide. Of course, a certain someone who I've been talking to probably hates me now, but I can live with that. You know who you are. ;) It was fun to write something again though, I must say.**


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